


Pepper's House

by SailorChibi



Series: puppy play [2]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Age Play, Collars, Cuddling, Headspace, Little Headspace, M/M, Master/Pet, No Sex, Non sexual puppy play, Oblivious Steve, Pet Play, Possessive Tony Stark, Protective Tony Stark, Public Nudity, Puppy Play, Puppy!Clint, Puppy!Tony, Team as Family, Tony Stark Needs a Hug, Urine, and puppies being grouchy with each other, but he gets points for effort, daddy!Bucky, handler!pepper, it doesn't work out well for either of them, just adorable fluff, little!Natasha, non sexual age play, non sexual pet play, not really master more like owner, owner!bucky, owner!steve, peeing on clothing, pepper potts and tony stark friendship, pepper potts loves tony stark, puppy headspace, seems to be a running theme for these dorks, steve tries to surprise tony, tony is a naughty puppy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-21
Updated: 2017-05-21
Packaged: 2018-11-03 11:52:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,142
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10966668
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SailorChibi/pseuds/SailorChibi
Summary: Sometimes surprises don't work out the way you want them to; Tony is very possessive of Pepper and Steve and doesn't appreciate unexpected visitors.





	Pepper's House

**Author's Note:**

> This was a commission for an anon. It's also their birthday this weekend (I'm a day late in posting - oops). This isn't _exactly_ what we discussed, but I hope you like it anyway. Happy Birthday!

"So tonight? You and Steve? My place?"

It took a moment for the fact that Pepper had even spoken to sink in. Then Tony dragged his eyes up from the documents he'd been pouring over and blinked at her. "What?"

She smiled patiently. "Your birthday, Tony. The dinner you asked me to cook? The fact that you're turning -"

"Stop," Tony said, throwing up a hand. He did not need any reminders about how old he was getting. Just two days ago, he was pretty sure he'd found his first grey hair while getting ready for work. If it weren't for the fact that Steve getting out of the shower had sufficiently distracted him, he might've given in to the urge to drive to the nearest barber for an immediate dye job.

This time, she smirked at him. "You're still up for it, though?"

"Yeah, Pep, of course. So long as you don't mind. I know I'm kind of a handful -"

It was Pepper's turn to cut him off. "Tony, stop being an idiot. You know that I think you're adorable when you're being a puppy. In all honesty, I've kind of missed having you around. Besides, I think that between Steve and I, we're more than equipped to handle any mischief you might get into."

"You never know. I might decide to be extra mischievous," Tony mumbled.

She stood up and ruffled his hair, ignoring his squawk of protest. "I'll take my chances. Tonight. Or, well, this afternoon I guess, since we agreed on 3pm. Don't be late, or I'll know it's your fault."

"Steve can be late too sometimes!" Tony yelled after her as she left. It was a lie, of course. Steve was never the one who made them late. He was the kind of person who would go sit in the car for ten minutes while Tony scrambled around trying to get ready.

He grumbled to himself as he packed his things up and had Happy drive him home. In all honesty, he was only half joking. He really was a little concerned about this afternoon, even though he wasn't sure why. Pepper and Steve got on extremely well, and Pepper had been the one to suggest that they visit. He was pretty sure that she wouldn't have done that unless she meant it, right?

It was after 1pm by the time he got home, which meant he had enough time for a quick shower but not for the nap he would've really liked to have had. Sometimes he hated it when he and Pepper had to work on Saturday mornings. But that was the nature of the job, and on days like today there was no getting around it: they'd made an extra fifty thousand dollars just by being in the office this morning and signing some papers.

He showered quickly and went into his bedroom. He had every intention of picking out something to wear and then popping out to the living room to wait for Steve. He sat down on the bed while staring at the closet and - 

And the next thing he knew, there was a hand on his shoulder and Steve's voice was calling his name.

"Huh? What?" Tony mumbled, prying one eye open.

"Hey," Steve said, so close to his face that all Tony could really see was two blue eyes. "I tried to call your phone but you didn't pick up. I let myself in. You fell asleep, baby."

Tony blinked at him slowly, still feeling muddled. It took him a moment to realize that Steve was right, though he had no memory of slumping over on the bed. He was still naked, though at least he was dry now. He pushed himself up and shivered a little; Steve frowned, grabbing a blanket from the bottom of the bed to drape across Tony's shoulders. Then he sat down beside Tony and wrapped an arm around him, rubbing briskly at Tony's arms. It felt so nice to lay his head against Steve's chest and just sit there.

"Are we late?" he asked finally, yawning.

"It's fine. I don't think Pepper will care."

"That's not what she said when she left the office today," Tony muttered.

Steve chuckled. "It's your birthday. I'm sure you'll be forgiven. Happy Birthday, by the way."

"Ugh, birthdays," Tony complained, but he couldn't deny a little spark of warmth that Steve had acknowledged it.

"How old are you again?" Steve asked, all innocence.

"Shut up, Steve."

Steve shook with laughter, but managed to keep his voice steady when he said, "Come on, lazy pup. In the interest of not getting you in trouble, we better get you dressed."

"Don't wanna."

"I think we can come to a compromise if you want your things now."

Tony thought about it and decided that he did. The idea of standing and pulling on clothing required too much effort. He nodded his head. When Steve stood up, Tony let himself flop back over, rolling over onto his belly with a leisurely stretch. He heard Steve chuckle again; the sound made Tony's belly feel warm, especially when Steve gently patted him on the bare ass. 

He listened as Steve moved to the closet and lifted down the little bag where Tony kept everything. Steve returned to the bed and, after unzipping the bag, gently took hold of Tony's right ankle and slid the knee pad up his leg. Tony wrinkled his nose against the bed. He didn't like wearing the pads, but crawling around was murder without them. If he wanted to be able to walk tomorrow, he didn't have much choice. 

Besides, the pads weren't quite so bad when it was Steve's fingers fastening them shut, just tight enough that they wouldn't slide back down when Tony moved. Steve even took an extra few seconds to make sure that the pads were positioned correctly. This time, Tony was hiding a smile against the bed. One of the things he loved most about Steve was how _careful_ Steve was - not like Tony was fragile, but like Steve just wanted to take extra good care of him.

"Still good?" Steve asked, tickling his right foot. Tony twitched and kicked at him lazily. Steve dodged, laughing, and said, "I'll take that as a yes. Ass up, baby."

Rather than going up onto his hands and knees, Tony spread his thighs in invitation. Steve snorted, but a moment later his hand was touching Tony's ass. One finger was cold and slippery and lube. It should've been awkward, because he and Steve hadn't had sex yet, but it wasn't. It just felt really good as Steve's finger painted lube over his asshole, making sure that he was slippery enough that it didn't hurt when Steve pushed the plug in. Long practice meant that Tony knew how to relax during the process, anyway. He sighed as the fullness registered, knowing that if he chose to look over his shoulder, he'd see a brown tail curving out from between his ass cheeks. 

"Almost done," Steve murmured above him. "Give me your hands." He took Tony's right wrist and slid the mitt on, strapping it into place. Tony flexed his fingers inside the mitt, feeling a warm curl of satisfaction when the mitt didn't move. These were new, and he couldn't take them off without Steve's help. That was scary in a way, but he had to admit that he liked it.

Steve strapped in his left hand, then picked up the puppy ears and set them on Tony's head. Tony let him fuss, knowing that Steve wouldn't stop until the ears were arranged just so. Besides, the best part was still coming. His collar. He preened as Steve lifted it out of the bag, heart pounding a little faster as the overhead light made the golden tag gleam, and finally pushed himself up. He presented his neck to Steve, lifting his chin.

The smile that crossed Steve's face was definitely a little smitten. "My good boy," he praised, sliding the collar around Tony's throat and latching it shut. 

Tony preened in response, swallowing just to feel the way the collar shifted around his neck. He liked it snug enough that he couldn't forget that it was there, but loose enough that he could eat and drink unrestricted. Steve had hit the sweet spot. He rolled his shoulders, delighting in the feel of the cool metal of the tag tapping against his collarbone, and Steve laughed again.

"You like your collar, don't you?" he asked, setting his hand on Tony's head and scratching lightly. "It looks so good on you. The red really compliments the olive tones in your skin. But then, you already knew that." He sounded amused.

Tony made a soft, wordless sound in response and arched his head into the touch, taking pleasure out of the pressure of Steve's fingers. He wasn't in his headspace all the way, but he was far enough down that words seemed like a needless amount of effort. So he settled for nudging at Steve's arm with a paw until Steve took the hint and looked at his watch. The startled curse that Steve let out was enough to make Tony smirk; evidently, Steve cared more about being late to Pepper's than he let on.

"Shit. Pepper's going to kill both of us. Come on." Steve scooped him up effortlessly into a bridal carry and hurried out of the room. Tony squeaked in surprise, squirming - he was still mostly naked, and while he didn't care about any of his neighbors or the paparazzi getting an eyeful, that would not help to endear them to Pepper by any stretch of the imagination. Fortunately, Steve caught on. He stopped just long enough to grab a long coat from the closet, which he wound around Tony's shoulders and fastened loosely, before hurrying Tony out the door.

The drive to Pepper's didn't take long. Tony amused himself by rolling down the window and sticking his head out. With his sunglasses and the puppy ears on, driving at 80 miles an hour, he was fairly certain no one would recognize him as Tony Stark. And as long as he kept his mittened hands inside the car, no one would really think twice. Besides, he liked the way the wind felt in his hair and on his face. He could close his eyes and feel like he was flying instead of driving in a car. 

They pulled into Pepper's driveway. Steve got out first and came around to help him. Tony leaned heavily against him, letting Steve support the majority of his wait as they walked to the front door. Pepper had left the door unlocked, and Tony - feeling more uncomfortable now that they were out in the open and were running the risk of someone being a little too interested - didn't hesitate to open it. Immediately the tantalizing smell of cooking meat rushed out to great them and Tony's stomach grumbled impatiently.

"It's us, Pepper," Steve called, removing the jacket from Tony. 

"Hi guys. I'm in the kitchen," Pepper called back.

Tony dropped to his hands and knees at the sound of her voice. He couldn't count how many times he'd been in Pepper's house like this. Too many. She'd been his sole handler for close to two years. The hard wood floors were familiar under his feet as he crawled forward, nose tilted into the air. He followed the scent of the food down the hall, Steve close behind, until Pepper came into view. She was standing at the stove, poking at something in a pot, but she turned around and smiled when she heard the sound of Tony's knee pads against the floor.

"Hey you," she said, holding her hands out. Tony went to her, pleased when she crouched down so that he could press his nose into her hands. She smelled of tomatoes and spices with just a hint of her vanilla body wash; he figured she'd gone home and showered as well. It was a good smell. He stuck his tongue out and licked her palm just once, then looked up with pleading eyes.

Pepper chuckled. "Are you hungry, angel?" she crooned, running her hand through his hair. "Dinner's going to be another couple of hours yet. But I do have some cookies on hand if your tummy can't wait."

Cookies? Tony sat up, alert. Pepper baked even less often than she cooked, mostly because of lack of time. But she was an amazing baker. He plastered on a begging expression while simultaneously trying to look like he was starving. Pepper rolled her eyes, but she couldn't stop the fond smile from tugging at her lips as she stood up and reached for a cookie container. Tony couldn't help wiggling in excitement, eyes fixed on the container as she slowly - too slowly! - twisted the lid off. She took out one cookie and broke it into four pieces.

"Gentle," she warned, holding out a piece. Tony leaned forward and delicately took the cookie with his teeth, moaning in satisfaction when he crunched down and got a taste of blueberries and chocolate. Pepper smiled - she knew they were his favorites - and fed him the other three pieces one after the other. Each one was better than the last; when they were all gone, Tony mournfully inspected her empty hands and then sighed. He looked back at Steve, half-hoping that Steve might talk her into giving him another one, but Steve just smiled.

"Maybe Pepper will give you another cookie later," Steve said, patting his head.

Tony pouted. He was another cookie _now_! That didn't seem like it was going to happen, though. Pepper was turning back to the stove and lifting the top of the pot, releasing a cloud of steam and another burst of delicious smells. Steve stepped closer to see what she was cooking. Tony shuffled out of the way, watching as his two favorite people conferred over the contents of the pot. He thought about begging for a taste, but he was pretty sure that Pepper was cooking her famous tomato sauce and that was a process that took at least five hours. Sadly, she was also famous for refusing to let anyone have a taste before it was perfect.

He crawled out of the room while they were both occupied and found himself back in the hallway. When he and Pepper used to scene together, one of Tony's favorite spots had been her bedroom. At first she'd tried to keep him out, citing a need for some sort of boundary, but eventually he'd worn her down. She wouldn't let him sleep in her bed the way that Steve did, but she'd started keeping a dog bed tucked into the corner of the room between her dresser and the wall. He was suddenly seized by a bout of inescapable curiosity to see if his bed was still there.

Since Pepper and Steve were still busy, he made his way down the hallway. The door to Pepper's bedroom had been pulled shut, but not tightly. He pawed at the door until it swung open. Pepper's bedroom looked exactly the way he remembered: it was decorated in cream and blue with oak wood furniture. And sure enough, the dark red dog bed was still tucked into the corner. Tony grinned and happily strutted over, throwing himself face first into the bed with a contented huff. He wiggled around, squirming onto his side. Still as comfortable as ever. God he missed this bed.

Then something caught his eye. He sat up. Pepper's closet door was open and he could see a hint of something yellow peeking through, which was very unusual for Pepper. He leapt out of the bed and rushed across the room, nudging the closet door open until he could see. It was a piece of lingerie, a slinky robe and gown set in buttermilk yellow, even though Pepper had often said she hated the color yellow because it didn't look right with her red hair. That meant it was probably a gift from her older sister, who never remembered what colors Pepper liked. Tony eyed the satin cloth derisively, then reared back on his haunches. He caught the hem of the robe in his teeth and yanked it off the hanger.

The robe fell over his head. He tossed his head until he was free, eyeing the robe critically, then shuffled on top of it. With a satisfied smirk, he lifted his leg.

"Tony! Tony, where are - _Tony_!" Steve's strangled squawk made Tony jump. 

"Steve?" Pepper followed him into the room. Her eyes got really big when she saw what Tony was doing.

"Oh my god, Pepper, I'm so sorry." Steve looked mortified. He was shifting on his heels like he couldn't decide if he wanted to grab Tony by the collar and drag him out of the room, or back out of Pepper's bedroom with his eyes shut. "I should've been keeping a closer on him. I had no idea he was going to come in here, or -"

"Steve, it's fine," Pepper said. "Tony knows he's allowed in my room. He also knows he's not allowed to pee in the house or on my things." She delivered a stern glance towards Tony, who wilted.

He whined, pawing at the soiled, wet clothing. He didn't regret peeing on it. He knew damn well Pepper would never wear it, and now she didn't have to.

Pepper sighed. "My sister gave me that," she said, exactly like Tony thought. She pushed past Steve and walked across the room, wrinkling her nose. "You couldn't have just buried it out back? You had to pee on it?"

Tony barked in response and dared to wiggle his hips, wagging his tail. He knew everything was okay when the corner of her mouth quirked up into a smile. She could never stay mad at him for long. He didn't even protest when she grabbed his collar and pulled. He went willingly, letting her drag him across the room and out into the hallway. Steve followed, still looking embarrassed. As Pepper disappeared back into her bedroom, he crouched down and grabbed Tony's face.

"Bad boy," he said, very sternly. "You know better than that. We do not pee in the house. If you have to go, then you let me know and I will take you outside. Pepper invited you here for her birthday. She didn't have to do that. She's cooking you supper and you made a mess in her room? You can't do stuff like that, Tony. Shame on you."

Steve's disappointment cut deep. Tony shrank in on himself with a soft whimper.

"Very bad," Steve said again, straightening up. "Now come on. We're going outside."

He walked away, leaving Tony with no choice but to follow. He slunk after Steve, darting tiny peeks up at Steve's face every so often. The disappointed look didn't change as Steve opened the back door. Pepper's back yard had a high privacy fence, so Tony didn't hesitate to crawl outside. The grass was cool and damp under his legs as he moved around.

He didn't need to pee anymore. But Steve was standing there with his hands on his hips, obviously waiting for him to do something. So Tony made a show of circling one of the trees a couple of times and then lifting his leg. He forced out a few drops of pee, then patted excitedly at the grass at his accomplishment. He looked up at Steve, hoping for praise, but Steve was still stone-faced. Tony wilted again.

Maybe Steve would be angry _forever_. Maybe he had been bad enough that Steve didn't want him anymore. Steve had called him a 'bad boy'. Tony didn't want to be bad. He wanted to be good! He whimpered, lifting a paw to bat at the tag attached to his collar. He didn't want Steve to take it off.

"Tony?"

Steve came over to him. Tony flinched away, hunching his shoulders to better hide his collar. A frown crossed Steve's face. He started to reach out, but Tony moved away again.

"Tony," Steve said, sounding annoyed.

The back door banged shut. Pepper walked over, bare foot in the grass. She set a hand on Steve's arm, but looked at Tony. "You're not bad, sweetheart," she said gently. "You did a bad thing, but you're not bad."

"What?" Steve said. 

Pepper shot him a sideways look from under her lashes. "Steve still loves you," she said to Tony. "He's not going to take your collar, and I still want to throw you a party."

"What?" Steve said again, and then, "Of course I'm not going to take your collar!"

Tony perked up a little, looking between them hopefully.

Steve said something under his breath, then crouched down again. This time he didn't grab Tony's face, but pulled him into a hug. "You're my sweet little puppy," he murmured into Tony's ear. "Pepper is right. You did a bad thing, but you're a good boy. My good boy." He kissed the side of Tony's head.

Relief flooded through him. Tony tentatively licked Steve's cheek, pleased when Steve didn't shove him away. If anything, Steve tightened the hug. And when he glanced over Steve's shoulder, he saw that Pepper was smiling at them.

"I've closed my bedroom door," she said. "Why don't you guys come back into the house when you're ready and we'll watch some television? It should be just about time for the surprise, Steve."

Surprise? Tony squirmed a little as she turned around and walked back to the house, wanting to know what the surprise was. But those thoughts fled his mind when Steve pulled back and set his hands on Tony's head, running his fingers through Tony's hair. Tony couldn't help nuzzling into the touch. Steve smiled at that, but his eyes were sad and Tony didn't like that. He whoofed softly.

"I know, baby. I'm sorry for yelling. I just want Pepper to think that I'm taking good care of you," Steve said, sighing. "I guess that's not the way to do it."

Tony whoofed again, indignant on his master's behalf. Steve chuckled.

"You're such a good boy when you want to be," he said fondly. "Come on. Let's go back in. No more making messes in Pepper's house, got it? If you need to pee, then you let me know and I will take you outside."

He stood up after one last pat to Tony's head. This time he walked slowly enough that it was easy for Tony to keep pace with him. He stopped at the door, grabbing the towel that Pepper had left to wipe Tony's paws. Tony wiggled and whined, wanting to go through already to see Pepper, but Steve was a giant pain and wouldn't let him go until he was finished.

Then the doorbell rang.

Tony _howled_. He might have accidentally kicked Steve in the face. Steve let go, swearing, and Tony shot into the house. He skidded into the living room, barking between gasps for air, just in time to see Pepper open the door to admit three very familiar faces: Bucky, Natasha and Clint. Tony stopped cold, staring at the three newcomers with narrowed eyes.

"Hi Pepper. Thanks again for inviting us over," Bucky was saying. He was holding both Clint and Natasha by the wrists. Both of them were dressed in long coats. 

"It was my pleasure. Hi Natasha," Pepper added, smiling.

Natasha stared at her with open awe. "Can I braid your hair later?" she asked.

Pepper's smile widened. "Of course you can, honey. Have you ever had a french braid?"

"A couple of times. Uncle Steve knows how to do them," Natasha said.

"How about an upside down braid? Or a four strand braid?"

"No," Natasha said.

"I'll show you later," Pepper promised. "Can I take your jacket?" 

Natasha glanced at Bucky, who nodded. "You can take it off now that we're indoors, baby girl."

Beaming, Natasha slid off her jacket. She was wearing purple jeans and a blue top with a sparkly purple puppy on the front. Clint removed his jacket too; he was already wearing his puppy outfit, and he slid to his knees without so much as a greeting towards Pepper. That's when Tony started to growl softly. Clint's head jerked in his direction immediately. But before he could growl back, Steve bustled in.

"Tony, you know better than to take off when I'm trying to do something," he scolded.

"Uncle Steve!" Natasha yelled. She literally threw herself at Steve, who just barely managed to react quickly enough to catch her. Pepper hid her laughter by hanging the jackets up in the closet.

"Tasha! You're here!" Steve said, hauling her up into a tight hug.

"I know we're a few minutes early. Someone couldn't bear to wait for another minute," Bucky said, gesturing to Natasha's back. "Hey Tony. Happy Birthday."

Tony growled louder, eyes flicking from Clint to Bucky and back again. He'd met them both before back at the puppy convention, and they'd hung out together a few times since then when everyone was in a normal headspace - but this was the first time Clint and Tony were both in their headspaces and in a place that Tony very much considered to be his. He didn't like it. Natasha was fine, but he didn't like the other two being here one bit.

Clint growled back, sitting up on his haunches and showing his teeth.

"Tony!" Steve said.

"Clint!" Bucky snapped at the same time. He reached down and grabbed Clint's collar, pulling the pup up before Clint could lunge forward.

"Uh oh," Pepper said. "Is everything going to be okay?"

"Could you take Natasha into the kitchen?" Steve asked her, stepping in front of Tony to block his view of Clint. He sounded a little frazzled. Tony stopped growling, but kept trying to keep around Steve's legs.

"Sure. Come on, honey. You can taste test my cookies."

Natasha skipped over to her immediately and took Pepper's hand. With them out of the way, Steve got down on his knees again. "Hey, look at me," he ordered, gripping Tony's chin. "That's enough. No growling. Clint and Bucky are here for your birthday since Rhodey and Bruce couldn't make it."

That stopped Tony cold. He stared at Steve in surprise.

"I wanted to surprise you," Steve said, his grip gentling. "It was Pepper's idea, actually."

Tony whined. He glanced over Steve's shoulder to where Bucky was talking to Clint in low tones. This was _his_ house and there was another puppy inside of it. A puppy who was very close to Steve. 

"Shh. You're fine," Steve said firmly. "I want you to be nice, understood? No more growling. No snapping. And definitely no fighting. Be a good boy for me, okay?"

He apparently considered the conversation over because he got up and turned to Bucky. "We should probably go into the kitchen before Natasha empties out the cookie jars. She's pretty hard to say no to."

"No need!" Pepper shouted from the kitchen, laughter evident in her voice. "You guys take a seat. Natasha and I will be right out. My little helper and I are getting everyone some drinks."

Bucky shrugged. "Can't argue with the hostess." He sat down on the couch and snapped his fingers at Clint. Looking like he was sulking, Clint crawled over and leaned against Bucky's legs. He rested his chin in Bucky's lap and glared at Tony.

Steve sat down on the couch too, but on the opposite end. Tony refused to be content with sitting on the ground in front of him and determinedly scrambled into Steve's lap, glaring back at Clint. Steve sighed and rolled his eyes, wrapping one arm around Tony's front as though to stop him from attacking Clint, but then he started to pet Tony's shoulders so it wasn't all bad. Tony relaxed against him, still glaring.

"Looks like we have a bit of a rivalry going on," Bucky said, sounding amused. 

"I don't like it," Steve said, echoing Tony's thoughts exactly. If it weren't for Steve's excellent hearing, Tony might've let out a little growl. "Tony knows better."

"Aw, Stevie. Don't be such a hardass. He's just jealous. Tony's never had to deal with competition for your attention."

"He met Natasha before at the convention."

"That's different. Natasha's a Little. It's not the same thing." He rubbed Clint's head. "Clint reacted the same way when Thor brought Loki and Jane over for the first time. He freaked out when I tried to pet Jane. And that's when he knew that Jane and Loki were coming and we had thoroughly discussed it beforehand." He shot Steve a pointed look. "I know you're new to this, but you should know now that no pup likes to be surprised by another pup in their territory."

Steve winced. "Maybe you're right. I thought it would be a good surprise..."

"It probably would've been if they weren't in their pup spaces. And if we were meeting in neutral territory."

"This isn't Tony's house though," Steve protested.

"It might as well be," Pepper said as she and Natasha joined them. Pepper was holding three beers and a tray of sweets. Natasha was proudly carrying a bottle of water and two bowls. "I've never had any other pup here except for Bruce. And Bruce is such a little sweetheart. He would never dream of challenging Tony for dominance. All he wants to do is let Tony fawn over him. I don't think that's what Clint has in mind."

"So what I'm hearing is, I fucked up," said Steve, looking miserable.

Pepper patted his knee sympathetically and handed him an open beer. "We both did. I know better than this. I should've guessed what was going to happen."

"It's not the end of the world, punk," Bucky said. "They'll learn to get along. Eventually. We'll give it half an hour and see how it goes."

It helped that Bucky moved when Pepper went to sit, ceding the couch to her and Steve and moving Clint to the other chair which was a few feet away. Tony stretched out across the couch, putting his head in Pepper's lap and his feet in Steve's lap, all the while shooting Clint a possessive look. Pepper rolled her eyes and Steve sighed, but neither one of them tried to push him away. 

Natasha was really the one who solved the problem, though. She tore through three cookies and then announced with a gleam in her eyes, "I want to play beauty parlor. I wanna braid the puppies' fur!"

Turned out that suffering was a real bonding experience.

**Author's Note:**

> Find me on [tumblr](http://tsuki-chibi.tumblr.com/).


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